2022 MLB Draft Top Prospects

The BA 500 is an attempt to capture the industry’s consensus on the talent of the 2022 draft class—not to predict where players will be selected. The list was compiled in consultation with major league scouts, front office executives, scouting directors, college coaches and other professional evaluators. Ben Badler, Teddy Cahill, JJ Cooper, Kyle Glaser, Joe Healy, Tom Lipari, Bill Mitchell and Carlos Collazo contributed to reporting and writing. Chris Trenkle contributed to editing.

Related: 2022 MLB Mock Draft Version 4.0

July 15: A last-minute rankings update to account for player movement and prospects removing themselves from the draft.

Georgia high school outfielder Druw Jones continues to lead the class in the No. 1 spot, as the industry’s consensus top prospect.

Given the extreme attrition to the top-end pitching talent of the class, it’s a hitter-heavy group up top, with high-upside high school players like SS Jackson Holliday, SS Termarr Johnson and OF Elijah Green.

For teams more inclined to chase the safer college demographic, there are plenty of proven bats to be found among the top 10 as well: SS Brooks Lee and C Kevin Parada have cases as the best pure hitters in the college class, while 3B/1B Jacob Berry, 2B Jace Jung, OF Gavin Cross and 3B Cam Collier have varying degrees of high-level hitting ability and power.

Prep righthanders Brock Porter and Dylan Lesko lead the pitching class, with power arms and elite changeups to go with them, while former Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker ranks at the top of the non-prep pitching demographic.

BA Grades

Baseball America has used BA Grades and risk factors for minor league prospects as part of our team top 30 rankings and annual prospect handbook for more than a decade. Starting in 2021, we assigned the top draft prospects BA Grades as well. This is an attempt to further contextualize the talent of the class and create a more seamless transition from amateur to professional talent rankings.

Below is a brief overview of BA Grades:

For the BA Grade, we used a 20-to-80 scale, similar to the scale scouts use, to keep things familiar. However, most major league clubs put an overall numerical grade on players, called the Overall Future Potential or OFP. Often the OFP is merely an average of the player’s tools.

The BA Grade is not an OFP. It’s a measure of a prospect’s value, and it attempts to gauge the player’s realistic ceiling. We’ve continued to adjust our grades to try to be more realistic, and less optimistic, and keep refining the grade vetting process.

BA Grade Scale

Grade	Hitter Role	Pitcher Role
75-80	Franchise Player	No. 1 starter
65-70	Perennial All-Star	No. 2 starter
60	Occasional All-Star	No. 3 starter, Game's best reliever
55	First-Division Regular	No. 3/No. 4 starter, Closer
50	Solid-Average Regular	No. 4 starter, Setup reliever
45	Second-Division Regular/Platoon	No. 5 starter, Middle reliever
40	Reserve	Fill-in starter, Low-leverage reliever
35	Quality Org Player	Quality Org Player

Risk Factors

Low: Likely to reach realistic ceiling, certain big league career barring injury.

Medium: Some work left to refine their tools, but a polished player.

High: Most top draft picks in their first season, players with plenty of projection left, players with a significant flaw left to correct or players whose injury history is worrisome.

Very High: Recent draft picks with limited track record of success or injury issues.

Extreme: Teenagers in Rookie ball, players with significant injury histories or players who struggle with a key skill, especially control for pitchers or strikeout rate for hitters.

3 Matches

Expand Collapse All Updated on: 7/15/2022

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Roman Anthony
Stoneman Douglas HS, Parkland, Fla. OF
Notes:
HT: 6-3 | Wt: 190 | B-T: L-R
Commit/Drafted: Mississippi
Age At Draft: 18.1
BA Grade: 50/Extreme
Tools: Hit: 45. Power: 55. Run: 50. Field: 50. Arm: 50.

Hailing from the same Southern Florida powerhouse that also produced Anthony Rizzo, Jesus Luzardo and, more recently, Coby Mayo, Anthony is the latest top prospect to come out of the program and he brings a powerful lefthanded bat with him. Listed at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Anthony looks the part of a developing young slugger with wide shoulders and present strength that shows up in the form of massive, 400-plus foot home runs. His raw power is easily plus, and when he catches a pitch on the barrel, there are few players in the class who can send a baseball as far as he can. However, Anthony struggled with swing-and-miss issues over the showcase circuit, which raised questions about his pure hitting ability. He made more contact this spring as the three-hole hitter for one of the best high school teams in the country, and he led all hitters with seven hits at USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational. A center fielder now, Anthony likely moves to a corner outfield position in the future, but he moves well underway and is a savvy and aggressive baserunner currently. He is committed to Mississippi.
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Roman Bracamonte
Nogales (Ariz.) HS RHP
Notes:
HT: 6-4 | Wt: 175 | B-T: L-R
Commit/Drafted: New Mexico State
Age At Draft: 18.3
One of the better high school pitchers in the Four Corners area for the 2022 class, Bracamonte didn’t attend many national showcase events last summer but has performed well this spring and drawn plenty of scouting interest. A tall and lanky righthander with a 6-foot-4, 175-pound frame, Bracamonte has arm speed that lets him pitch in the 89-94 mph range right now and the physical projection that should allow him to add plenty of strength and throw even harder in the future. On top of a fastball that could be in the upper 90s in short order, Bracamonte has thrown a solid curveball in the mid-to-upper 70s that could be an average secondary pitch, along with a changeup that gets below-average grades. Bracamonte is committed to New Mexico State but is viewed as a fourth-to-sixth-round talent despite not having a significant amateur track record.
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Roman Phansalkar
Oklahoma State RHP
Notes:
HT: 6-1 | Wt: 195 | B-T: R-R
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 24.1
The veteran reliever for the Cowboys was a reliable member of the team’s bullpen. In 29 relief appearances, Phansalkar went 6-3, 3.46. Known for his unusual movement on his 92-95 fastball, hitters hit a meek .222 against him as his fastball proved diabolical to square up. The redshirt junior compliments his fastball with an 82-86 mph slider and a 82-84 mph changeup that serves as a solid offering to lefthanded hitters. Phansalkar’s arsenal projects extremely well for the pro game versus wood bats. He profiles as an efficient middle relief arm.
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2022 MLB Draft Top Prospects

Roman Anthony

Roman Bracamonte

Roman Phansalkar

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